Air equalizer for storm doors



Oct. 6, 1964' R. e. EVERETT AIR EQUALIZER FOR STORM DOORS Filed Feb. 12, 1 962 Ba] 6! [verett United States Patent 3,151,526 EQUALEZER FUR TGRM DEQFE Everett, 255 Peari 3L, Marion, @hio This invention relates to an attachment for storm doors and more particularly to a device to be installed in storm doors to equalize the air presusre on each side of the storm door during opening or closing.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a device of the above-mentioned character that will be of simple construction, capable of ready attachment to a storm door and thoroughly dependable. Another object is to provide a device of the above-mentioned character that will be of inexpensive construction and capable of inexpensive manufacture on a large scale.

Another object is to provide a device of the abovementioned character that will be of compact construction and of unobtrusive appearance. A further object is to provide a device of the above-mentioned character in which complication of construction is avoided and thus great convenience in use, as well as reliability of action, is achieved.

These and more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed in the course of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which- FIG. 1 is a plan view of a corner of a storm door showing my device installed thereon.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the device as seen from the outside of a door, the door being only fragmentarily shown.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the section line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the section line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view showing in plan the 5 main parts of the device from left to right as follows: the first vented cover, the first retaining washer, the flexible or neoprene disk, the second retaining washer 13' and the second vented cover 12'. Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views in the drawing.

Referring now to the drawing and more particularly to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, a portion of the storm door is indicated at and it is provided with a circular opening 11. A ring like frame member or vented cover generally indicated at 12 is made to rest flatly against the door 10 and surround the opening 11. The vented cover 12 is provided with 8 arms 14 which project like spokes of a wheel from the center to the circumference of the cover. Next to the first vented cover 12 is positioned the first retaining washer 13. This washer has 8 equidistant holes near its circumference. Eight screws 15 are required to pass through these holes in order to hold the parts together. Four of the holes also act as clearance holes. Four of the screws pass through 4 spacers 16 which cooperate in holding the parts in proper position. Between the first and second retaining Washers is clamped the flexible or neoprene disk 17. This disk or plastic panel 17 may be made of any suitable flexible material such as soft vulcanized rubber or neoprene and is provided with slits 18 emanating from a common junction point 19 located substantiaJly centrally of the opening 11.

The second vented cover 12 is the same in construction as the first vented cover 12 and is similarly provided with 3,i5i,b25 Patented Get. 6, 1964 8 arms 14' which project from the center to the circumference of the vented cover 12'.

It will be observed that the slits 18 all intersect at a common junction point 19 located at the center of the neoprene disk 17 and thus form 8 triangular panels of a resilient or flexible nature which are capable of being defiected in either direction by the pressure of the air when the storm door is being opened or closed but always return to their original co-planar position when the air pressure is the same on the inside as on the outside of the storm door. Thus when the storm door is closed the plastic panels return to their closed position and effectively keep out rain, cold air or snow as well as insects.

it will be obvious from the foregoing that I have provided an equalizer for storm doors which acts to relieve the air pressure on either opening or closing of the door.

It will be seen that the device is of simple construction and of thoroughly dependable action in use and that the device is well adapted to meet the varying conditions of hard practical use.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Since it is admitted to be old to employ valves or vents in combination with storm doors as shown in the prior art the claims are now drawn to cover the specific structure of the valve which acts to relieve the air pressure on either closing or opening of the door.

I claim:

1. A pressure equalizer for mounting in an aperture extending through a structure comprising a resilient flexible disk-like member of a size to close the opening, a disk retainer on each side of said disk-like member, each disk retainer being open at the center, said disk retainers being provided with aligned openings adjacent the periphery thereof for receiving fastening screws, a vented cover of larger size than said disk for mounting at each end of said aperture in contact with one face of the structure, and retaining screws for passage through the holes in said venting covers and for threading into the aligned openings of said retainers for securing said retainers, disk-like member and vented covers in assembled condition and for securing said pressure equalizer to the supporting structure, said disk-like member being provided with slits extending from a central portion thereof to adjacent the periphery.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in which spacer members are positioned between one of the retainers and the adjacent vented cover plate and the securing screws through the said adjacent vented cover plate are screw threaded into the other retainer plate and the disk-like member is effectively secured in position between the retainers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,342,216 Henig June 1, 1920 2,774,116 Wolverton Dec. 18, 1956 2,820,475 Hobbs Jan. 21, 1958 2,822,819 Geeraert Feb. 11, 1958 3,007,527 Nelson Nov. 7, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 533,319 Great Britain Aug. 14, 1930 

1. A PRESSURE EQUALIZER FOR MOUNTING IN AN APERTURE EXTENDING THROUGH A STRUCTURE COMPRISING A RESILIENT FLEXIBLE DISK-LIKE MEMBER OF A SIZE TO CLOSE THE OPENING, A DISK RETAINER ON EACH SIDE OF SAID DISK-LIKE MEMBER, EACH DISK RETAINER BEING OPEN AT THE CENTER, SAID DISK RETAINERS BEING PROVIDED WITH ALIGNED OPENINGS ADJACENT THE PERIPHERY THEREOF FOR RECEIVING FASTENING SCREWS, A VENTED COVER OF LARGER SIZE THAN SAID DISK FOR MOUNTING AT EACH END OF SAID APERTURE IN CONTACT WITH ONE FACE OF THE STRUCTURE, AND RETAINING SCREWS FOR PASSAGE THROUGH THE HOLES IN SAID VENTING COVERS AND FOR THREADING INTO THE ALIGNED OPENINGS OF SAID RETAINERS FOR SECURING SAID RETAINERS, DISK-LIKE MEMBER AND VENTED COVERS IN ASSEMBLED CONDITION AND FOR SECURING SAID PRESSURE EQUALIZER TO THE SUPPORTING STRUCTURE, SAID DISK-LIKE MEMBER BEING PROVIDED WITH SLITS EXTENDING FROM A CENTRAL PORTION THEREOF TO ADJACENT THE PERIPHERY. 